The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-308495 filed on Oct. 6, 2000 the entire contents thereof is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beach cleaner for recovering waste such as empty cans scattered on a sandy soil.
2. Description of Background Art
Heretofore, a beach cleaner has been known for recovering waste such as rope, driftwood, empty cans, cigarette butts, and paper scraps scattered on a sandy beach such as a bathing beach, for example, a beach cleaner as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 3-138203.
The beach cleaner disclosed in the above publication is what is called a self-traveling type cleaner having a travel body integrally formed with a cleaner body. According to this construction, waste is scooped up together with sand by a scoop-up section provided in a front portion of the cleaner body, the waste and sand thus scooped up are then classified into waste and sand while being conveyed by a conveyance section such as a belt conveyor, and only the waste is recovered by a waste recovery section provided in a rear portion of the cleaner body.
The above conventional beach cleaner involves the following problems. The conventional beach cleaner is a self-traveling type having a travel portion integrally with the cleaner body. In addition, a scoop-up section for scooping up waste, etc., a conveyance section for the conveyance of the scooped-up waste, etc., and a waste recovery section are provided in the cleaner body, thus giving rise to the problem that the entire structure of the beach cleaner becomes complicated and becomes large in size.
Accordingly, there also arises the problem that the beach cleaner becomes heavier and more expensive.
Further, since the entire structure of the beach cleaner becomes complicated and larger in size as mentioned above, it is difficult to carry out maintenance work.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-mentioned circumstances and it is an object of the invention to provide a beach cleaner reduced in size, weight and cost that is capable of effecting the recovery of waste in a simple manner, and requiring a minor amount of maintenance work.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beach cleaner that is capable of efficiently recovering even relatively small waste mixed in sand such as cigarette butts.
For solving the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner adapted to travel on a sandy soil while being towed by a traction vehicle to recover waste such as empty cans scattered on the sandy soil, the beach cleaner comprising a travel body for carrying waste recovered during travel. The travel body includes a plurality of longitudinal members. In a front portion thereof, a portion to be towed by the traction vehicle, the longitudinal members are arranged in a hurdle shape spacedly in the transverse direction. A flat plate-like scraper for scraping up waste together with sand during travel is disposed in the front portion of the travel body so as to cross the travel body.
According to this configuration, since a flat plate-like scraper is provided in the front portion of the travel body so as to cross the travel body, the scraper scrapes up waste together with sand when the traction vehicle tows the travel body at a predetermined speed on a sandy soil. Thus, without using any special power, waste can be scraped up together with sand and can be recovered selectively behind the scraper with the use of a suitable means.
According to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner wherein a net for separating waste from the waste-sand mixture scraped up by the scraper and for storing the waste is stretched on an upper surface of the travel body.
According to this configuration, sand and waste scraped up by the scraper are transferred onto the net stretched on the upper surface of the travel body. Since the travel body oscillates minutely during travel, the net also oscillates minutely, so that only the sand drops through the mesh of the net, allowing only the waste to remain on the net, and thus the waste is separated from the sand.
According to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner wherein the front portion of the travel body is provided with a slant portion which is higher in a forward direction. According to this configuration, since the front portion of the travel body is provided with a slant portion, the slant portion diminishes a running resistance during travel.
According to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner wherein a rear portion of the travel body is provided with a slant portion which is higher in a rearward direction.
According to this configuration, even when the travel body oscillates minutely during travel, waste which has been collected by the net can be prevented from dropping from the rear portion of the travel body.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.